This is the recommended way, using grml-live. This process is a full rebuild, building a completely new squashfs. It gives you full control about the result, including removing and adding packages, configuration etc.

To remaster, you need a Debian testing/sid installation or a current grml itself. Running the installation system in a VM is fine. The remastering process doesn't anything weird outside the build directory. It is generally assumed that you use the version of grml-live that was released with the version of grml you're trying to remaster, though any later version should work as well.

• Download grml iso and the assocaited sha1.asc signature from a mirror.

• Please, verify the downloaded file:

$ gpg --verify grml64_2011.12.iso.sha1.asc

• Install grml-live from the Grml.org repositories.

• Then, as root:

• Edit config in /etc/grml/grml-live.local and /etc/grml/fai/* to your liking.
  • Also take a look at CHROOT_INSTALL in grml-live.local.

• Build:

# grml-live -A -V -u -e ~/Downloads/grml64_2011.12.iso -s testing -c DEBORPHAN,GRMLBASE,GRML_FULL,RELEASE,AMD64,IGNORE -r "Remastered" -g grml64 -o /tmp/grml64

• Enjoy your new ISO in /tmp/grml64/grml_isos/

The list of FAI recipies after the -c option can be taken from the following table:

The next grml release following 2017.05 will have the list of FAI recipies that were used to build the image inside the iso in *insert path here*

If you have trouble using these instructions, please join our IRC support channel.

If you only want to do small changes, for example change the default parameters grml starts with or add a grml.sh file for initialization, use the process from this paragraph to re-build the .iso, giving you the possibility for changes that happen outside the squashfs, while keeping the original squashfs intact. This way, your image stays as close as possible to the respective grml release.

This paragraph is a stub. If somebody knows how to do this “remaster light” process, please document here. If the grml project does not want “remaster light” to be documented, please remove the entire paragraph.

grml versions older than 2011.12 must be remastered using release-chroots, and you must use the grml-live version matching the release (a newer version of grml-live is supposed to work as well though).

grml-live will not work for remastering versions of Grml older than 2008. For help have a look at remastering-old wiki page.

For another guide (German) to remaster grml (2010.12) take a look at Notes on remastering Grml (Thanks thkoehler).